Archives for October 2016

Denver, CO / Arlington, VA, USA – A new study from The Nature Conservancy finds that an investment in tree planting of just US $4 per resident in some of the world’s largest cities could improve the health of tens of millions of people by reducing air pollution and cooling city streets.

Released today at the American Public Health Association annual meeting, the Planting Healthy Air study applies well-established research into how trees clean and cool the air locally at a global scale to identify those places where an investment in tree planting can make the biggest impact on people’s lives.

The Conservancy partnered with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership group to develop the study, with the aim of providing urban leaders with the data they need to demonstrate that investments in tree planting can improve public health in their cities.

“Trees can have a significant local impact on pollution levels and temperatures,” said Rob McDonald, lead scientist for global cities at The Nature Conservancy and the study’s primary author. “Urban trees can save lives and are just as cost-effective as more traditional solutions like putting scrubbers on smokestacks or painting roofs white.”

The challenges facing cities are significant, but trees can be an important part of the solution:

Every year, more than 3 million people die from the effects of fine particulate matter – air pollution so small that it can enter the bloodstream and lungs, causing such ailments as asthma, heart disease and stroke. In cities, much of this pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels, including in car engines. Trees can remove as much as a quarter of the particulate matter pollution within a few hundred yards, and when planted in the right places, can offer a very effective barrier, filtering bad air and protecting local residents.

Urban heat is already the deadliest type of weather-related disaster facing the world, and the impacts will only increase as our climate continues to change. In France in 2003, a summer heat wave killed approximately 11,000 people in one week, so many that the Paris city morgue was overwhelmed and the bodies had to be stored at a vegetable market. The most vulnerable to deadly heat waves are elderly people without access to air conditioning. Trees can cool their immediate vicinity by as much as 2 degrees C, offering a means of protecting people from the impacts of a changing climate.

The Conservancy’s Planting Healthy Air study found that an annual global investment of US $100 million in tree planting could provide 77 million people with cooler cities and 68 million people with measurable reductions in particulate matter pollution.

Cities with high population density, high levels pollution and heat, and a low cost of planting trees showed the highest return on investment, with countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh topping the global rankings. But the data also shows neighborhoods in every city that offer a high potential benefit to residents from tree planting.

Planting Healthy Air: Global Return on Investment Rankings: The study ranks all 245 cities for the potential per capita impact of planting trees, as defined by degrees of temperature reduction or the amount of fine particulate matter pollution that could be removed with a given investment:

Top ROI Cities Particulate Matter

Top ROI Cities Heat

1. Karachi, Pakistan

1. Dhaka, Bangladesh

2. Dhaka, Bangladesh

2. Mumbai, India

3. Delhi, India

3. Karachi, Pakistan

4. Faisalabad, Pakistan

4. Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

5. Mumbai, India

5. Kathmandu, Nepal

6. Dakar, Senegal

6. Damascus, Syria

7. Ahmadabad, India

7. Freetown, Sierra Leone

8. Kathmandu, Nepal

8. Port au Prince, Haiti

9. Cairo, Egypt

9. Dakar, Senegal

10. Freetown Sierra Leone

10. Faisalabad, Pakistan

Trees are the only solution that both clean and cool the air, while simultaneously offering other benefits, including urban green space for residents, habitat for wildlife and carbon sequestration. Tree planting is a solution that mayors and other municipal leaders around the globe can implement to improve the lives of residents within their communities, reducing air pollution and slowing climate change.

“Trees alone cannot solve all of the world’s urban air and heat challenges, but they’re an important piece of the solution,” McDonald said.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the web at www.nature.org. To learn about the Conservancy’s global initiatives, visit www.nature.org/global.

28 October 2016 | Bureau of Meteorology-Australia Government News Release

Australia is experiencing more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons according to the findings of a new climate report released today.

The biennial CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology State of the Climate report draws on the latest climate monitoring and science to show how our climate is changing.

CSIRO Senior Scientist and leader of the NESP Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub, Dr Helen Cleugh said the changes were due to an increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, which act like a blanket by keeping heat in the Earth’s lower atmosphere.

“Carbon dioxide is measured in parts per million,” Dr Cleugh said.

“Before around 1750, the level of CO2 was 278ppm. This year the Earth will record a global annual average of over 400ppm, the highest level in the past two million years.

“Australian temperatures will almost certainly continue to increase over the coming decades. Temperature projections suggest more extremely hot days and fewer extremely cool days.

“As land temperatures increase, so do ocean temperatures and the report shows that the deep ocean is also impacted, with warming now recorded at least 2000 meters below the sea surface.”

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Manager of Climate Monitoring, Dr Karl Braganza said Australia was already experiencing the effects of climate change with record-breaking heat now becoming commonplace across the country.

“Australia experienced its three warmest springs on record in 2013, 14 and 15,” Dr Braganza said.

“Temperature and rainfall during this period is critical to southern Australia’s fire season.

“We’ve already seen an increase in fire weather and a longer fire season across southern and eastern Australia since the 1970s. In these regions the number of days with weather conducive to fire is likely to increase.

“Whilst the observations show us increased rainfall in some parts of Australia, we have also seen significant seasonal decline, such as in the April-October growing season where an 11 per cent decline in rainfall has been experienced in the continental southeast since the mid-1990s.

“Some of the record-breaking extreme heat we have been seeing recently will be considered normal in thirty years’ time.”

State of the Climate 2016 is the fourth report in a series published biennially by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology, which together play an integral role in monitoring, measuring and reporting on weather and climate.

BELMOPAN, Belize – The longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere has received a reprieve from seismic surveying, WWF has learned. Officials in Belize agreed to suspend the seismic portion of offshore oil exploration an after an outcry from concerned citizens, national civil society groups and international conservation organizations and their supporters.

The survey began on October 19, a day earlier than had been publicly announced, and was scheduled to reach just over one kilometre from the country’s fragile World Heritage site. However, the government of Belize on Thursday instructed surveyors to “cease seismic operations immediately.”

“Our reef is a source of pride and a rallying point for Belizeans. Tourism operators, fishers, divers and conservationists recognize its natural value and the benefits that it affords our economy,” said Nadia Bood, WWF’s Belize reef scientist.

“We welcome the news that the government of Belize has suspended the seismic testing and promised to undertake wider consultation. Proceeding without understanding the risks to ocean life and people’s livelihoods was a bad decision. It was the right decision to suspend seismic operations, but until an offshore oil ban is legislated, the threat remains.”

Research commissioned by WWF found that 190,000 people, over half of Belize’s population, are supported by incomes in the tourism and fisheries industries. The analysis also estimated that cleaning up an offshore oil spill would cost $280 million, or 15 per cent of the country’s annual GDP.

The Belize Tourism Industry Association said in a statement that it is “concerned about the potential negative impacts on our fisheries and tourism sectors from petroleum exploration.” The association added that “any irreversible damages to our marine resources would adversely impact the tourism industry, which is the mainstay of Belize’s economy, as well as the livelihoods of all Belizeans who directly and indirectly benefit from tourism.”

The impacts of an environmental disaster in Belize could cause harm to essential marine and coastal ecosystems across the broader Mesoamerican Reef System, which also includes Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, WWF cautions.

“The Belize reef, like all World Heritage sites, belongs to everyone, and the government has an obligation to protect it for future generations. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee and people in the 192 countries it represents are waiting for Belize to pass laws restricting offshore oil. We hope this will happen soon,” Bood said.

“I’d like to thank the citizens of Belize and supporters around the world who expressed their concerns to the government. We are delighted that more than 160,000 people have already asked the prime minister to protect the World Heritage site. While the uncertainty continues, we urge everyone to take action.”

The Central American country of Belize announced plans for the start of oil offshore exploration across a vast stretch of its Caribbean Sea waters. Conservationists warn that seismic testing for subsea oil deposits, which is set to begin on Thursday, has dangers for marine life that have not been assessed.

If it proceeds, the testing will occur under a mile from the fragile Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage site, which has been listed as in danger by UNESCO. WWF believes that an oil spill anywhere within Belize’s waters could be catastrophic for residents whose livelihoods depend on healthy marine and coastal ecosystems. A spill also could threaten neighboring areas of the broader Mesoamerican Reef System, which extends to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, WWF cautions.

“Our reef is an engine for long term economic development in Belize. More than half of Belize’s population, around 190,000 people, are supported by incomes generated through tourism and fisheries,” said WWF’s Belize reef scientist Nadia Bood. “Oil would put the reef at risk, but it’s not too late to reverse this decision before the damage begins.”

Late last year, Belize committed to ban oil exploration within the World Heritage site, but still has not passed the ban into law. The proposed ban also includes a small buffer zone, however in July the UNESCO World Heritage Committee asked Belize to revise the zone to a distance that would protect the reef.

According to UNESCO, Belize’s coastal area consists of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere. The country’s waters are a haven for 1,400 kinds of plants and animals, including rare marine turtles, rays, sharks and dolphins, which are particularly sensitive to underwater noise.

Seismic testing involves using airguns to blast shockwaves through the water that are powerful enough to penetrate the seafloor. For dolphins and whales, it can cause deafness, disturb communications, and disrupt migration patterns. Whales and whale sharks will be migrating through the area at the time of the survey. Additionally, such surveys have been shown to impact negatively catch rates for fishers, especially during testing periods.

“Offshore seismic testing can considerably impact the ecology and marine life thereby having detrimental effects on our thriving travel industry,” said Osmany Salas, president of the Belize Tourism Industry Association. “We should not jeopardize our vulnerable natural resources and beloved tourist attractions that are the very heart of our tourism industry.”

A coalition of Belizean organizations has spoken out about the risks that oil exploitation poses to the local economy, and has called on the government “to ban offshore oil from any of Belize’s offshore waters in the interest of promoting a sound environment and a sustainable economy.”

“WWF stands with civil society in Belize and invites the government to work with the coalition to find an ecologically sound path to sustainable economic development,” Bood said.

Washington – The nation’s 56 million Latinos are especially vulnerable to the health threats posed by climate change because of where they live, work and lack access to health care, a report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council said. Latinos therefore stand to benefit greatly from concerted efforts to reduce carbon pollution, which fuels global warming, according to “Nuestro Futuro: Climate Change and U.S. Latinos.”

“It’s no wonder Latinos in the United States overwhelmingly demand climate action: They are extremely vulnerable to hazard and harm from this widening environmental threat,” said Adrianna Quintero, a co-author of the report and director of partner engagement at NRDC. “In so many ways—from where they live and work to dire challenges they face in gaining access to health care—Latinos are at Ground Zero for climate impacts.

“But there’s a silver lining— Latinos, and all Americans, also can gain real and sizable health and economic benefits as we cut the carbon pollution driving climate change and transition to smarter, cleaner energy that powers our future,” Quintero said.

“Nuestro Futuro,” a comprehensive review of dozens of the latest studies and reports in the United States lays out the array of health and economic impacts that Latinos face as a result of climate change:

A majority live in California, Texas, Florida and New York, states that are among the most affected by extreme heat, air pollution, and flooding.

Latinos are heavily represented in crop and livestock production and construction, where they’re at elevated risk from climate-change-boosted extreme heat. They are three times more likely to die on the job from excessive heat than non-Latinos.

Latinos generally have less health insurance coverage than non-Latinos, so they struggle to access health care when afflicted by climate-related illnesses.

There is a flip-side: U.S. Latinos also stand to receive tremendous health, safety and economic benefits from action to reduce the impacts of climate change. This helps explain why Latinos—often seen as mainly concerned about immigration issues—rank acting on climate high as a national priority. Furthermore, the report notes, they can help accelerate a clean energy revolution, creating clean energy jobs, saving people money on electric bills and protecting future generations from climate catastrophe.

“The millions of people in the United States who identify as Hispanic or Latino are remarkably diverse—and remarkably united. They are worried that climate change, if unchecked, will harm their families, communities and country. And they want action now to avoid its worst impacts,” said Maria Cardona, a board member of Voces Verdes who participated in the telephone-based press conference held to release the report.

The Nuestro Futuro report highlights these polling findings:

9 in 10 Latinos want climate action, and 86 percent support carbon pollution limits on power plants- a key driver of climate change. In contrast, a recent Associated Press poll found that 65 percent of all Americans think climate change is a problem that the government needs to address.

A majority of Latinos, 59 percent, do not believe there’s a trade-off between environmental reforms and economic growth.

The report also catalogues these other health impacts Latinos face:

Nearly 25 million of the country’s 56 million Latinos live in the 15 worst areas for ground-level ozone pollution, which puts people at risk for premature death, lung cancer, asthma attacks and other health ailments. The areas include Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, New York and Houston.

In 2015, 48 percent of the nation’s crop and livestock production workers and 28 percent of construction workers were Latinos, working in outdoor jobs that put them at high risk from extreme heat.

Nationally, farm and construction workers accounted for 58 percent of job-related heat deaths, and Hispanics had three-fold more risk of dying from the heat on the job than non-Hispanics, and the report cites studies in California, North Carolina and Oregon.

On average Hispanic children suffer the same from asthma as non-Hispanics, but they are 70 percent more likely to be admitted to the hospital and, alarmingly, twice as like to die from asthma as non-Hispanics.

And millions of Latinos are undocumented immigrants and not eligible for disaster aid offered to help people recover from extreme weather damages to property.

Flooding from sea level rise and storms, both amplified by climate change, also hit Latino families especially hard. Many of them live along the coasts, often lack health insurance and have fewer resources to become resilient when confronted by climate impacts, according to the report.

For example, southern Florida—home to 2.7 million Hispanics—could experience some of the highest impacts from rising seas and hurricane-driven flooding in the country. Communities including Miami, Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg could see floodwaters rushing higher and farther into their streets with climate change, according to the report.

“Millions of Latinos live in cities with pollution-choked air and along our coasts where seas are rising. They are in the vortex of climate health impacts,” said Juan Declet-Barreto, a health scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists who participated in the report release. “We know this: If we don’t reduce the carbon pollution fueling climate change, more will become ill, and more will die.”

Finally, the report concludes with recommendations that urge Latinos and all Americans to support full implementation of the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan to cut carbon pollution and expand clean energy; back policies that track and cut air pollution in the nation’s transportation system; demand strong energy efficiency programs from utilities; and work to accelerate policies that promote clean wind and solar power and the jobs they’ll create.

“There is a huge, untapped opportunity to reduce electricity bills for Latinos, including the nearly five million Hispanic residents in multifamily rental housing,” said Jorge Madrid, a Voces Verdes board member also participating in the report release. “Increasing investment in energy efficiency programs could help reduce energy burdens and energy consumption in Latino and other underserved communities, cut costs associated with late bill payments and shutoffs, boost the local economy—and create many clean energy jobs.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

Kigali, 15 October 2016 – Nearly 200 countries struck a landmark deal today to reduce the emissions of powerful greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in a move that could prevent up to 0.5 degrees Celsius of global warming by the end of this century.

The amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer endorsed in Kigali today is the single largest contribution the world has made towards keeping the global temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius, a target agreed at the Paris climate conference last year.

“Last year in Paris, we promised to keep the world safe from the worst effects of climate change. Today, we are following through on that promise,” said UN Environment chief Erik Solheim.

“This is about much more than the ozone layer and HFCs. It is a clear statement by all world leaders that the green transformation started in Paris is irreversible and unstoppable. It shows the best investments are those in clean, efficient technologies.”

Commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances, HFCs are currently the world’s fastest growing greenhouse gases, their emissions increasing by up to 10 per cent each year. They are also one of the most powerful, trapping thousands of times more heat in the Earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2).

“The faster we act, the lower the financial costs will be, and the lighter the environmental burden on our children,” said President of Rwanda Paul Kagame.

“That begins with a clear signal that change is coming and it is coming soon. In due course, new innovations and products will allow us to phase out HFCs even faster, and at lower cost.”

The rapid growth of HFCs in recent years has been driven by a growing demand for cooling, particularly in developing countries with a fast-expanding middle class and hot climates. The Kigali amendment provides for exemptions for countries with high ambient temperatures to phase down HFCs at a slower pace.

“It is not often you get a chance to have a 0.5-degree centigrade reduction by taking one single step together as countries – each doing different things perhaps at different times, but getting the job done,” said US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“If we continue to remember the high stakes for every country on Earth, the global transition to a clean energy economy is going to accelerate.”

Phase down schedule

Following seven years of negotiations, the 197 Montreal Protocol parties reached a compromise, under which developed countries will start to phase down HFCs by 2019. Developing countries will follow with a freeze of HFCs consumption levels in 2024, with some countries freezing consumption in 2028.

By the late 2040s, all countries are expected to consume no more than 15-20 per cent of their respective baselines.

Financing and alternatives to HFCs

Countries also agreed to provide adequate financing for HFCs reduction, the cost of which is estimated at billions of dollars globally. The exact amount of additional funding will be agreed at the next Meeting of the Parties in Montreal, in 2017. Grants for research and development of affordable alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons will be the most immediate priority.

Alternatives to HFCs currently being explored include substances that do not deplete the ozone layer and have a smaller impact on the climate, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide. Super-efficient, cost effective cooling technologies are also being developed, which can help protect the climate both through reducing HFCs emissions and by using less energy.

The Kigali Amendment comes only days after two other climate action milestones: sealing the international deal to curb emissions from aviation and achieving the critical mass of ratifications for the Paris climate accord to enter into force.

Adopted in 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is the most successful UN environmental agreement in history. Ratified by 197 parties, it has led to a 98 per cent decrease in the production and use of ozone-damaging chemicals, helping the ozone layer to start recovering, saving an estimated two million people each year by 2030 from skin cancer and contributing to mitigating climate change.

Johannesburg, South Africa – With illegal and unsustainable trade endangering wildlife across the world, governments united today behind a series of tough decisions to provide greater protection to a host of threatened species and bolster efforts to tackle soaring levels of poaching and wildlife trafficking.

Gathered in South Africa for the world’s largest ever wildlife trade meeting – the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – more than 180 countries voted to maintain the international ban on trade in ivory and rhino horn, while adopting global bans on trade in pangolins and African grey parrots.

The conference also imposed strict regulations on the trade in silky and thresher sharks, devil rays, as well as on all species of rosewood tree.

“With much of the world’s wildlife threatened by poaching and unsustainable trade, governments had to take bold action here in Johannesburg and they did. This conference can only be viewed as a major success for wildlife conservation,” said Theressa Frantz, WWF Co-head of Delegation to CITES CoP17.

“The world not only united behind the urgent need to protect threatened species, ranging from devil rays to rosewood trees, but also to bolster implementation and enforcement measures to ensure that trade regulations amount to more than ‘paper protection’,” added Frantz.

Among a record-breaking number of issues on the agenda, delegates agreed to a series of significant steps to ramp up the global response to illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade.

Along with calling for the closure of domestic ivory markets that are contributing to illegal trade, countries backed the CITES-led National Ivory Action Plan (NIAP) process, which identifies countries that are weak points in the illegal ivory trade chain, and is central to efforts to halt the ivory trade. CITES also left Vietnam and Mozambique in no doubt that they must crack down on the illegal rhino horn trade within a year or face the threat of sanctions.

Just as importantly, countries adopted enhanced traceability mechanisms that are at the heart of efforts to develop sustainable fisheries for sharks and rays, and tightened up rules relating to tiger farms and trade in captive-bred animals, which will help prevent the laundering of wild-caught animals.

“There were some grueling negotiations at this conference but the final outcome is a stronger global wildlife trade system and greater commitment by countries to act and, critically, to hold others to account,” said Frantz. “Bans make the headlines but rigorous implementation makes the difference. Countries have no excuse: they now have a broader set of tools and a clear expectation that they must act or be held accountable.”

For the first time, the conference also officially debated and adopted resolutions on a number of critical crosscutting issues relating to illegal wildlife trade, including corruption and reduction of consumer demand for threatened wildlife and their parts.

“This was the largest and most ambitious CITES conference, and in many ways the most successful,” said Frantz. “Countries around the world must now turn the tough talk we have heard here in Johannesburg into tough measures on the ground.”

There has been a noticeable reduction in winter sea-ice coverage around Antarctica in recent weeks, with sea ice extent starting its annual retreat early and setting new daily record lows for much of the past week.

The result comes two years after winter sea ice extent around Antarctica reached a new record high in September 2014, when it exceeded 20 million square kilometres for the first time since satellite measurements began in 1979.

This year, Antarctic sea ice began its annual spring retreat roughly four weeks earlier than average, after peaking at 18.5 million square kilometres on 28 August 2016, which was close to the lowest winter maximum on record.

Dr Jan Lieser from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and the Australian Research Council-funded Antarctic Gateway Partnership said it was a surprising finding, given the trend in recent years.

Worldwide policy actions to harness the global financial system for sustainable development have more than doubled over the last five years, but more effort is needed to turn this momentum into genuine global transformation, according to the second edition of UN Environment’s landmark report, “The Financial System We Need”.

Over the past five years, policy and regulatory measures by finance ministries, central banks and financial regulators to promote sustainable finance have risen to 217 and now exist in nearly 60 countries, the report finds.

Developing and emerging economies have focused their efforts on greening the banking sector, accounting for 70% of total measures in that sector. Developed countries have focused their action on environmental, social and governance issues by institutional investors, accounting for 92% of all measures in that sector.

Capital is also starting to shift, the report finds. The issuance of green bonds has already reached US$51.4bn this year, up from last year’s total of US$41.8bn – a fourfold increase since 2013, when issuance was below US$11bn. However, the total amount of green bonds outstanding is just 0.15% of the global fixed income market.

We are putting forward recommendations to accelerate the conversion of much of the financial system’s US$300 trillion of assets – held by banks, the capital markets and institutional investors – into sustainable financial flows,” said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. “The money isn’t the problem, it’s where we put it.”

2016 has also been marked by major moves at the national and international levels:

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have, for the first time, agreed to scale up green finance.

In China, President Xi and the State Council have issued guidelines to green the financial system.

The European Commission has just announced it will develop a comprehensive European strategy on green finance.

In India, new guidelines have been introduced to promote the expansion of the green bond market.

In Kenya, leadership on mobile banking is providing the basis for expanding access to renewable energy.

Despite the promising trend, UN Environment emphasized the need for stronger and faster action. Globally, US$5-7 trillion a year is needed to finance the Sustainable Development Goals. China alone has a stated aim of raising US$1.5 trillion for financing green projects through to 2020; 85% of this will have to come from private finance.

UN Environment has set out five ambitious yet practical proposals that could bring the financial system into alignment with sustainable development and climate imperatives:

Embed sustainability into long-term national plans for financial reform.

Use public finance for direct impact and to pioneer new markets, rules and practices.

Ensure that policymakers and professionals understand the imperatives and risks.

Develop common approaches to integrating sustainability into definitions, tools and standards.

The Momentum to Transformation report also sets out an initial performance framework for measuring progress towards a sustainable financial system across different countries. This tracks the policies and regulations in place, the market response and the flows of sustainable finance.

Nick Robins, co-director of UN Environment’s Inquiry, said: “Key data about the performance of the financial system and sustainable development is still lacking. This is holding back financial institutions from reallocating capital and financial policymakers from putting in place the necessary market frameworks. It’s why developing a set of shared indicators and standards is so critical.”

The report also pays specific attention to financial technology (fintech), which offers significant potential to scale up funding for sustainable development. Through advances in digital technologies – such as artificial intelligence and blockchain – tomorrow’s financial system could be far more efficient in mobilizing green finance, but that action is needed now to shape the direction of fintech.

Simon Zadek, co-director of UN Environment’s Inquiry, said: “The overlap between environment and finance is more obvious than ever. The solutions that fintech promises could not only revolutionize the financial sector but bolster global efforts to safeguard our environment.”

About UN Environment’s Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System

The Inquiry is the premier international platform for advancing national and international efforts to shift the trillions required for delivering an inclusive, green economy through the transformation of the global financial system. Since launching in 2014, the Inquiry has worked with more than twenty countries on national processes, published around 90 reports and working papers and serves as the Secretariat for the G20’s Green Finance Study Group. Its landmark 2015 report “The Financial System We Need” revealed for the first time the “quiet revolution” already taking place, led particularly by some developing countries, and its potential to renew the purpose of the financial system in the context of sustainable development.

Washington, D.C. —The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released a draft environmental impact statement that concludes seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico would cause significant harm to marine mammals. The long-awaited review comes in response to a court-ordered settlement of a lawsuit brought by environmental groups.

The analysis finds that as many as 31.9 million marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico will be injured and harassed by oil and gas seismic surveys. This includes 80 percent of the Gulf’s endangered sperm whale population, estimated at 763 animals. Sperm whales will experience as many as 760,000 harassing exposures to airgun blasting over the next decade.

The draft estimates that seismic blasting would cause as many as 588 injuries to the Gulf’s Bryde’s whales—of which only 33 individuals remain—or about 17 times for each member of this imperiled population.

“For years, industry has been allowed to blast away without permits, without authorizations, and without thought about how its activities are degrading the already beleaguered Gulf,” said Michael Jasny, director of NRDC’s Marine Mammal Protection Project. “This place is not a sacrifice zone. The federal government finally needs to take action once and for all and not condone this business-as-usual disregard for the health of these waters.”

Seismic exploration surveys use extensive arrays of high-powered airguns to search for oil. These generate the loudest human sounds in the ocean short of explosives. The blasts, which can effectively reach more than 250 decibels, can cause hearing loss in marine mammals, disturb essential behaviors such as feeding and breeding over vast distances, mask communications among whales and among dolphins, and reduce catch rates of commercial fish.

The new report finally acknowledges what environmental groups have long warned: that these sonic blasts cause harm to marine mammals. The report estimates that oil and gas seismic surveys will harm whales and dolphins with as many as 4.3 million instances of injury, including permanent hearing loss.

Prior to the lawsuit, the oil and gas industry conducted seismic surveys for decades without the permits required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

“Oil and gas surveys deafen and injure whales, and marine mammals shouldn’t have to endure these seismic assaults. It’s good to finally see an analysis of the airgun blasting after years of industry delays, and we really need to cut oil and gas exploration,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “For the sake of our climate and sensitive marine life, we need to get the oil and gas industry out of oceans.”

The draft report outlines possible mitigation measures, including closure areas where seismic blasting would be banned, and reductions in the amount of activity permissible each year.

“For years we have raised concerns that the sound from oil and gas surveys was injuring the marine mammals of the Gulf,” said Cynthia Sarthou, executive director at the Gulf Restoration Network. “Protection of mammals in the Gulf is even more important now, as many are still recovering from exposure to oil and dispersant from the BP disaster.”

“Flooding the ocean with noise from seismic surveys is a devastating one-two punch for the ocean,” said Steve Mashuda, an attorney with Earthjustice. “At a time when our oceans are already showing the stress of climate change, it just doesn’t make sense to harm whales, dolphins, and other ocean wildlife in service of drilling for more oil we can’t afford to burn.”

The environmental review is open to public comment for 60 days. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit compelling the environmental review include NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity, Gulf Restoration Network and Sierra Club, and are represented by Earthjustice.